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THE  CHIMERA 


OF 


COMMERCIAL  UNION 


WITH  THE 


DOMINION    OK  CANADA, 


BY 


JOSEPH  NIMMO,  Jr. 


[From  the  Nerv   York  Tribune  of  June  23d,  1890. 


THE  CHIMERA  OF  COMMERCIAL  UNION. 


The  advocacy  of  the  scheme  of  commercial  union  with 
Canada  during  the  last  two  years  has  proceeded  very  much 
after  the  fashion  of  a  fairy  tale  told  to  unsuspecting  children. 
Fanciful  collocations  of  fact  and  sentiment  have  been  em- 
ployed to  construct  visionary  trade  relationships,  but  so 
fragile  and  so  loosely  jointed  is  the  airy  castle  that  a  breath 
of  reason  scatters  it  to  the  winds.  Anything  approaching  a 
close  analysis  of  the  relations  which  actually  exist  between 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  at  once  exposes  an  array  of 
outrageous  encroachments  and  of  direct  assaults  upon 
American  interests  in  progress  to-day  all  along  the  interna- 
tional boundary  line,  from  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  to 
Vancouver  Island.  Such  encroachments  and  aggressions 
constitute  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  a  financial  partnership 
involving  the  customs  revenues  of  the  two  countries. 

I  propose  here  to  advert  to  certain  of  the  larger  and 
more  clearly  defined  of  these  acts  of  aggression  on  the  part 
of  the  Dominion  Government. 

1.  It  is  apparent  to  any  American  citizen  who  has  given 
the  slightest  attention  to  our  North  Atlantic  fisheries  inter- 
ests that  the  entire  course  of  the  Canadian  Government  in 
relation  thereto  is  in  violation  of  treaty  stipulations  ;  in  vio- 
lation of  the  comity  of  nations  ;  in  violation  of  the  reciprocal 
obligations  of  the  transit  trade,  the  very  reverse  of  our  treat- 
ment of  Canadian  vessels,  and  in  the  face  of  the  dictates  of 
humanity.  The  late  Secretary  Manning,  of  the  Treasury 
Department,  in  an  ofiicial  report  to  Congress,  characterized 
the  Canadian  refusal  to  allow  American  fishing  vessels  to 
seek  shelter  from  storms  in  Canadian  harbors,  and  to  lie  in 
such  harbors  when  in  distress^  as  **  acts  of  barbarism  fit  only 


for  savages,"  "  as  contemptible  and  odious,  as  for  a  govern- 
ment conducting  a  naval  war  to  tire,  in  these  days,  on  a  hos- 
pital ship  attested  by  her  color  and  flag,  and  tilled  exclusively 
with  the  sick,  wounded,  or  dying,  their  surgeons  and  nurses." 
Secretary  Manning  justified  this  strong  language  by  citing 
the  case  of  a  certain  American  vessel,  which  had  then  re- 
cently rescued  an  imperilled  Canadian  crew  at  sea,  and  on 
bringing  these  shipwrecked  sailors  safely  into  a  Canadian 
harbor,  had  been  denied  the  privilege  of  purchasing  food 
and  water,  of  which  her  crew  were  sadly  in  need,  and  was 
rudely  hustled  out  of  port  by  Canadian  officials.  And  yet  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  has  never  acceded  to  the 
insolent  Canadian  assumption  that  American  fishing  vessels 
may  be  tabooed,  those  commercial  rights  which  are  estab- 
lished between  the  two  countries  by  treaty  and  are  secured 
by  generally  recognized  principals  of  international  law. 

2.  The  Dominion  Government,  in  open  violation  of  article 
27  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  makes  a  discrimination  of 
18  cents  a  ton  in  her  canal  tolls  in  favor  of  Montreal  and 
against  American  ports.  This  fact  was  clearly  pointed  out 
by  the  Hon.  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr.,  in  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives January  8,  1888. 

3.  In  open  violation  of  reciprocal  legislative  arrangement 
the  Dominion  Government  imposes  a  discriminating  entrance 
fee  of  50  cents  and  a  clearance  fee  of  50  cents  upon  Ameri- 
can vessels. 

4.  The  Dominion  Government  has  for  years  stubbornly 
resisted  the  request  of  the  United  States  Government  to 
allow  the  wrecking  vessels  of  this  country  to  go  to  the  relief 
of  American  vessels  and  their  imperilled  crews  in  Canadian 
waters. 

5.  After  contracts  had  been  made  for  the  delivery  of  trees, 
plants,  and  other  American  nursery  stock  in  Canada  during 
the  present  season,  the  Dominion  Government  by  order  in 
council  raised  the  duty  on  such  commodities,  and  has  also 
sought,  by  means  of  an  excessive  and  vexatious  charge,  to 


prevent  American  commercial  agents  from  pursuing  their 
avocation  in  Canada,  while  Canadian  commercial  agents 
enjoy  complete  liberty  in  the  much  more  valuable  markets 
of  the  United  States. 

6.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
to  Winnipeg  in  1886,  the  Dominion  Government  attempted  to 
deny  to  American  railroads  the  privileges  of  her  transit  trade, 
and  was  deterred  from  such  action  only  by  the  fear  of  losing 
their  much  more  valuable  right  to  engage  in  the  United 
States  domestic  transit  trade. 

7.  In  their  recent  third  annual  report,  the.  United  States 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  has  set  forth  the  fact  that 
the  Dominion  Government,  by  statutory  enactment,  not  only 
enables  but  incites  Canadian  railroads  to  unjust  discrimina- 
tion against  the  ports  of  the  United  States  and  the  railroads 
of  the  United  States.  This  is  a  source  of  great  embarrass- 
ment in  the  administration  of  our  Interstate  Commerce  law. 

8.  The  Dominion  Government  is  essentially  a  transporta- 
tion enterprise,  actuated  not  by  legitimate  principles  of  com- 
petition, but  by  fierce  political  exigencies.  That  Government 
owns  and  manages  a  canal  system  which  cost  over  $52,000,- 
000  and  a  railroad  system  which  cost  about  148,000,000. 
Besides,  it  has  aided  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company 
to  the  amount  of  $210,000,000. 

9.  At  the  present  time  the  Dominion  Government  and  the 
British  Government  are  conspiring,  by  the  sheer  force  of 
subsidy,  to  divert  an  important  part  of  the  domestic  and 
foreign  commerce  of  the  United  States  from  American  sea- 
ports, American  ships,  and  American  transportation  lines. 
The  Canadian  Pacific  subvention  of  $210,000,000  amounts, 
at  5  per  cent.,  to  an  annual  subsidy  of  $10,500,000 ;  the 
British  steamer  line  across  the  Pacific  Ocean  receives  an  an- 
nual subsidy  of  $375,000  a  year  for  an  Asiatic  postal  service 
one-twentieth  in  magnitude  that  of  the  United  States  with 
Asia,  and  for  which  American  steamers  receive  only  $14,000 
a  year.     The  Dominion  Government  pays  an  annual  subsidy 


6 

of  $180,000  a  year  to  tlie  portion  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  Avliich  traverses  the  forest  region  of  the  State  of 
Maine,  and  the  Canadian  and  British  Governments  are  to 
pay  a  subsidy  of  $500,000  a  year  to  a  British  steamer  line 
from  Halifax  to  Liverpool.  Besides,  the  two  steamer  lines 
here  mentioned  receive  Admiralty  subsidies,  the  exact  amount 
of  which  is  not  publicly  known.  The  total  amount  of  sub- 
sidy granted  to  this  combined  British  line  from  Hong  Kong 
to  Liverpool  amounts  to  fully  $11,200,000  annually,  and  con- 
stitutes a  discrimination  to  that  amount  against  American 
seaports,  American  steamer  lines  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
American  internal  transportation  lines.  Sir  John  A.  Mac- 
donald  has  boastfully  asserted  that  the  great  political  rail- 
road of  Canada  was  built  in  order  to  grasp  the  commerce  of 
the  seas,  in  the  interest  of  a  confederated  British  Empire. 

10.  This  combined  subsidized  British-Canadian  line  across 
the  American  continent  is  marked  by  military  characteristics 
offensive  toward  the  United  States,  viz  :  The  fact  that  the 
steamers  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  lines  are  to  be  so  con- 
structed as  to  be  available  as  armed  cruisers  in  time  of  war, 
and  the  fact  that  the  Canadian  and  British  Governments  have 
constructed  on  the  island  of  Vancouver  a  formidable  fortress, 
which  stands  within  sight  of  our  shores  as  a  menace  to  the 
United  States.  An  officer  of  the  Boyal  Engineers  has  just 
made  an  inspection  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and 
will  report  to  the  British  Government  upon  the  strategic  im- 
portance of  that  road  as  a  military  highway  to  the  Indies. 

11.  To  cap  the  climax  of  Canadian  aggression  and  au- 
dacity, the  Dominion  Government  imposes  a  discriminating 
duty  on  tea  and  coffee  when  imported  from  the  United  States, 
and  she  places  all  coins  on  her  free  list  except  United  States 
silver  coin.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has  recently 
suggested  to  Congress  the  propriety  of  laying  a  countervail- 
ing, discriminating  duty  on  tea  when  imported  from  Canada. 
Tea,  coffee,  and  Canadian  silver  are  now  admitted  into  the 
United  States  free  of  duty.  -s 


The  astonishing  fact  concerning  this  whole  matter  is  that 
the  United  States  neglects  to  interpose  any  obstacle  to  this 
long  line  of  aggression,  and  violation  of  plighted  faith,  by 
any  act  or  line  of  policy  protective  of  American  interests. 
The  commercial  bodies  of  the  Pacific  coast  have  petitioned 
Congress  to  protect  their  trade  and  transportation  interests 
against  Canadian  and  British  aggression,  and  Senator  Hale, 
of  Maine,  has  introduced  a  bill  to  protect  Portland  and  Bos- 
ton against  the  diversion  which  appears  imminent  from  the 
highly  subsidized  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  which  traverses 
the  forest  region  of  that  State.  Search  through  the  wide 
world  and  you  will  find  no  other  instance  of  encroachment 
by  one  country  upon  a  neighboring  country  at  all  compara- 
ble to  the  line  of  aggressions  which  characterizes  the  deport- 
ment of  Canada  toward  the  United  States,  from  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland  to  Vancouver  Island. 

CERTAIN  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  DOMINION  GOVERNMENT  WHICH 

REPEL   COMMERCIAL   UNION. 

There  are  three  patent  causes  for  the  aggressive  and  in- 
sulting conduct  of  Canada  toward  the  United  States  inherent 
in  the  organic  features  of  the  Dominion  Government. 

First.  The  fact  that  the  Dominion  Government  is  abso- 
lutely independent  of  the  British  Government  in  all  matters 
of  internal  and  foreign  policy.  In  a  word,  Canada  sim- 
ply uses  the  British  flag  as  a  screen  behind  which  she  plays 
high-handed  tricks  upon  the  United  States.  A  conception 
of  this  fact  led  Mr.  Bayard,  late  Secretary  of  State,  to  declare 
to  Sir  Charles  Tupper  that  he  was  tired  of  "  this  wordy  trian- 
gular duel,"  and  to  ask  for  "  more  direct  and  responsible 
methods  "  in  the  conduct  of  diplomatic  business  with  Canada. 

Second.  The  Dominion  Government  is  essentially  a  po- 
litical party  government,  the  leader  of  the  party  in  power 
being  at  once  chief  of  the  executive  branch  and  boss  of  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  Government ;  in  a  word,  a  partisan 
autocrat. 


Third.  The  Uuited  States  Government  in  the  management 
of  our  foreign  commerce  is  confined  to  the  single  expedient 
of  import  duties,  while  the  Dominion  Government  lays  duties 
on  both  imports  and  exports,  and  besides  has  recourse  to  the 
facile  expedient  of  Orders-in-Council,  which  give  expression 
to  every  political  caprice,  and  afford  a  wide  scope  of  discre- 
tion in  the  work  of  taking  advantage  of  the  United  States. 

A  distinguished  United  States  Senator  of  my  acquaintance 
has  designated  the  Dominion  Government  as  a  "  Horse 
Jockey  Government,"  but  I  am  impelled  to  say  that  a  plain 
recital  of  facts  in  regard  to  Canadian  aggressions  is  to  my 
mind  far  more  telling  than  any  possible  epithet  which  could 
be  bestowed  upon  that  Government. 

It  is  with  such  a  country,  which  is  continually  skirmishing 
for  advantage  along  our  entire  northern  boundary  line,  that 
the  United  States  is  asked  by  certain  theorists  and  political 
dreamers  to  enter  into  a  close  customs  revenue  partnership 
under  the  name  and  style  of  **  Commercial  Union." 

THE  ADVOCACY   OF   COMMERCIAL   UNION. 

Commercial  union  has  had  as  its  chief  advocate  a  gentleman 
of  conspicuous  ability,  Mr.  Erastus  Wiman,  a  Canadian  by 
birth,  and  still  a  Canadian  and  subject  of  Great  Britain, 
although  for  nearly  thirty  years  a  resident  of  New  York  city, 
where  he  is  engaged  in  large  commercial  pursuits.  In  the 
advocacy  of  his  pet  scheme,  Mr.  Wiman  has  seen  fit  to  pro- 
claim his  devotion  to  monarchical  institutions  as  exemplified 
in  the  Government  of  Canada,  and  his  firm  allegiance  to 
British  connection,  and  he  has  followed  this  up  with  the 
declaration  that  "  commercial  union  "  does  not  in  the  remot- 
est degree  squint  at  annexation  to  the  United  States.  Both 
he  and  Sir  Richard  Cartwright  deprecate  any  such  move- 
ment. I  will  present  two  or  three  of  Mr.  Wiman's  expres- 
sions upon  these  points.     Said  he  in  one  of  his  speeches  : 

"  Those  who  are  acquainted,  however,  with  the  public  sen- 
timent in  Canada  know  that  loyalty  to  British  institutions 


1M3  v-'r.t.'v- r^^-^    .  ^??  ' 


9 

permeates  the  whole  country,  and  that  with  the  mother's 
milk  has  been  drunk  in  the  love  for  the  motherland,  love  for 
the  good  Queen  who  has  ruled  them  so  wisely  for  half  a 
century,  and  pride  in  all  the  glory  of  British  connection,  be- 
lief in  British  prowess,  and  faith  in  the  British  Empire." 

In  referring  to  the  subject  of  annexation,  Mr.  Wiman  de- 
clared that  a  candidate  for  Parliament  who  should  to-day 
offer  himself  for  election  on  the  annexation  platform  "  would 
be  accused  of  the  rankest  treason." 

In  certain  of  his  somewhat  voluminous  speeches  and  writ- 
ings Mr.  Wiman  has  expressed  his  greater  admiration  for 
the  Governmental  institutions  of  Canada  than  for  those  of  the 
United  States.  He  has  also  declared  his  "  conviction  that 
nothing  will  contribute  in  a  greater  degree  to  a  perpetuation 
of  British  connection  than  a  close  commercial  alliance  by 
Canada  with  the  United  States."  This  he  explains  by  stating 
that  the  average  duty  on  imports  into  the  United  States  is 
abont  10  per  cent,  higher  than  that  on  imports  into  Canada, 
and  that  if  the  United  States  should  lower  her  rate  5  per 
cent,  and  Canada  correspondingly  raise  her  rate,  the  result 
to  Great  Britain  would  be  a  positive  advantage,  for  the  rea- 
son that  the  lowering  of  the  duties  in  the  United  States  would 
cause  a  largely  increased  importation  of  British  goods  into 
this  country,  which  increase  would  very  much  exceed  the 
falling  off  in  the  imports  of  British  goods  into  Canada  in 
consequence  of  the  abolition  of  all  duties  by  Canada  on 
merchandise  from  the  United  States.  Thus,  England  would 
be  led  to  smile  upon  "  commercial  union."  The  correctness 
of  this  particular  view  of  the  case  is,  perhaps,  beyond  ques- 
tion, but  I  would  remark  that  it  involves  considerations  which 
import  very  much  more  to  the  people  of  the  United  States 
than  their  entire  trade  with  Canada.  • 

Mr.  Wiman  also  maintains  that  a  failure  to  adopt  "  com- 
mercial union  "  would  naturally  tend  to  drive  the  people  of 
Canada  toward  annexation  to  the  United  States.  From  all 
I  can  gather,  it  appears  to  me  that  he  is  correct  upon  this 


10 

point.  One  of  the  most  tempting  baits  which  Mr.  Wiman 
held  out  to  the  Canadians  was  the  enormous  advantages  which 
they  were  to  derive  from  the  freedom  of  our  markets  for 
their  poultry  and  eggs.  He  became  eloquent  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  "  free  broilers,"  i.  e.,  half-grown  chickens,  which,  as 
he  stated,  are  frequently  sold  in  the  New  York  market  at 
from  $2.00  to  $2.50  a  pair.  As  a  protectionist,  I  am  happy 
to  observe  that  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate 
are  now  agreed  upon  a  duty  of  five  cents  a  dozen  on  eggs, 
three  cents  a  pound  on  live  poultry,  and  five  cents  a  pound 
on  dressed  poultry.  Besides,  my  acquaintance  in  Washington 
leads  me  to  believe  that  the  American  statesman  of  the  pres- 
ent day  is  not  very  likely  to  interpose  an  obstacle  to  annexa- 
tion in  the  form  of  a  "  free  Canadian  broiler." 

FISCAL   AND   OTHEK   OBSTACLES    TO    COMMERCIAL   UNION. 

The  fiscal  conditions  of  the  Dominion  Government  and  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  present  an  insuper- 
able obstacle  to  commercial  union  or  free  trade  between  the 
two  countries.  The  national  debt  of  the  United  States  fell 
from  $2,678,000,000  in  1867  to  $1,619,062,932  in  1889,  the 
debt  per  capita  falling  from  $69.26  in  1867  to  $15.12  in  1889, 
whereas  the  debt  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  rose  from 
$75,728,641  in  1867  to  $237,530,041  in  1889,  the  debt  per 
capita  increasing  from  $21.63  in  1867  to  $46.79  in  1889. 
Be  it  remembered  also  that  the  present  enormous  debt  of 
Canada  was  incurred  mainly  in  converting  its  government 
into  a  political  transportation  enterprise,  operated  for  the 
promotion  of  ends  inimical  to  the  United  States,  and  for  the 
promotion  of  commercial  objects  detrimental  to  the  interests 
of  American  shipping,  American  commerce,  and  American 
transportation  lines.  The  success  of  the  present  Canadian 
policy  of  encroachment  upon  American  interests  involves 
increased  expenditures  in  the  nature  of  subsidy  which  are 
freely  granted  by  the  people  of  Canada,  while  the  people  of 
the  United  States  cherish  a  prejudice  (not  entirely  reasonable) 
against  subsidies. 


11 

The  idea  of  assimilating  the  customs  tariffs  of  two  countries 
so  differently  situated  in  regard  to  their  present  and  probable 
future  fiscal  needs  seems  sufficient  to  condemn  the  whole 
scheme  of  commercial  union  as  an  absurdity. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  the  scheme  involves  a  structural 
difficulty  which  would  defeat  the  very  object  to  be  accom- 
plished. It  proposes  to  except  from  the  provisions  of  "  com- 
mercial union  "  or  "  free  trade  "  between  the  two  countries 
all  articles  subject  to  duties  of  excise  or  of  internal  revenue. 
At  the  present  time  80  per  cent,  of  the  revenues  of  Canada 
from  taxation  are  derived  from  customs,  and  about  50  per 
cent,  of  her  customs  is  derived  from  duties  on  imports  from 
the  United  States.  It  is,  therefore,  perfectly  apparent  that 
the  sudden  abandonment  by  Canada  of  so  large  a  per- 
centage of  her  customs  revenue  would  at  once  involve  a 
very  large  increase  of  her  excise  duties,  to  be  protected  by 
corresponding  customs  duties  on  articles  imported  from  the 
United  States.  But  even  this  does  not  cover  the  difficulty. 
The  abandonment  of  the  duties  on  manufactured  goods 
imported  from  the  United  States  would  greatly  decrease  the 
importation  of  such  goods  into  Canada  from  other  countries, 
and  correspondingly  reduce  her  revenue  from  customs. 
This  also  would  have  to  be  made  up  by  additional  internal 
taxation,  to  be  again  protected  by  additional  customs  duty 
on  American  goods.  Where,  then,  would  "commercial 
union  "  be  ?  I  answer,  snowed  under  bv  Canadian  customs 
duties,  adopted  in  order  to  offset  Canadian  excise  duties. 
We  would  be  obliged  also  to  do  something  of  the  same  sort 
on  this  side  of  the  international  boundary  line,  so  long  as 
we  lay  an  internal  revenue  tax  on  spirits  and  tobacco.  So, 
in  the  end,  we  should  probably  find  the  tail  of  "  commercial 
union  "  to  be  bigger  than  its  body. 

That  the  "  commercial  union "  scheme  does  involve 
this  insuperable  difficulty  is  clearly  apparent  from  the 
resolution  upon  the  subject  introduced  into  the  Dominion 
Parliament  by  Sir  Richard  Cartwright,  Mr.  Wiman's  friend 


12 

and  coadjutor  in  this  business.     The  following  is  an  extract 
from  the  official  debate  of  March  14,  1888  : 

"  Sir  Richard  Cartwright  moved  :  That  it  is  highly  desira- 
ble that  the  largest  possible  freedom  of  commercial  inter- 
course should  obtain  between  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  and  that  it  is  expedient  that  all  articles 
manufactured  in  or  the  natural  products  of  either  of  the  said 
countries  should  be  admitted  free  of  duty  into  the  ports  of 
the  other  (articles  subject  to  duties  of  excise  or  of  internal 
revenue  alone  excepted)." 

Presumably  the  exception  to  the  commercial  union  scheme 
is  put  in  parenthesis  for  the  same  reason  that  eggs  are  put 
into  omelettes  on  shipboard — to  hide  their  horrid  imperfec- 
tions. 

But  I  see  in  this  scheme  an  open  door  to  far  greater  Ca- 
nadian encroachment  upon  American  interests  than  we  have 
suffered  during  the  last  fifty  years,  and  I  believe  "  commer- 
cial union  "  would  prove  to  be  merely  a  blind  ditch  through 
which  the  current  of  advantage  would  run  northwardly,  with 
laterals  leading  into  certain  mines  now  owned  and  operated 
by  American  citizens  in  Canada. 

But  aside  from  all  objections  to  "  commercial  union  "  of  a . 
commercial,  economic,  and  political  character,  and  assuming 
that  it  is  practicable  for  this  great  Nation  of  65,000,000, 
whose  National  Government  is  ingenuously  political,  to  enter 
into  a  fiscal  partnership  with  another  country  of  only  about 
5,000,000,  in  all  its  Governmental  processes  shrewdly  com-  ' 
mercial  and  deftly  strategic,  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  the  practical  administration  of  such  a  scheme  which  seem 
insuperable.  It  is  absolutely  certain  that  the  United  States 
Government  would  never  allow  such  an  institution  as  the 
present  Dominion  Government  to  have  any  participation  in 
the  collection  of  our  customs  revenues.  We  are  too  well  ac- 
quainted with  Canada  and  her  methods  for  that.  We  should 
demand  absolute  control  of  the  external  customs  service  of 
the  two  countries.     But  that,  as  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  has 


13 

very  properly  remarked,  the  Canadians  would  never  submit 
to,  and  for  valid  reasons  affecting  the  honor  of  their  country. 
It  is  also  clearly  apparent  that  any  joint  partnership  admin- 
i3tration  of  the  customs  service  of  the  two  countries  w^ould 
not  only  be  in  the  nature  of  an  "  entangling  alliance,"  but 
that  it  would  lead  to  inextricable  confusion. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  Canadian  politics,  the 
scheme  of  commercial  union  is  to-day  absolutely  chimerical. 
Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  and  the  great  political  party  of  which 
he  is  the  leader  are  bitterly  opposed  to  the  scheme,  for  it 
goes  in  the  face  of  the  fiscal,  political,  and  commercial  features 
of  the  policy  upon  which  that  party  has  so  long  held  political 
ascendancy  and  is  still  firmly  intrenched  in  power.  As  a 
practical  issue  in  Canadian  politics.  Sir  John  has  crushed 
"  commercial  union  "  with  an  epigram.  Said  he  :  "  England 
will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it,  the  United  States  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  Canada  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it." 

And  Sir  Charles  Tupper  appears  to  have  laid  the  still-born 
infant  upon  the  shelf  by  declaring  about  a  year  ago,  in  the 
Dominion  Parliament,  that  the  Wiman-Cartwright  scheme  of 
commercial  union  had  gained  no  foothold  in  Canadian  poli- 
tics. 

From  all  that  has  been  said  in  advocacy  of  "  commercial 
union  "  it  appears  as  though  Mr.  Wiman  and  his  few  coad- 
jutors in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada  have  viewed  the 
subjects  from  a  rather  narrow  standpoint  of  trade  interests, 
and  that  they  have  also  erred  in  ignoring  the  fact  that  gov- 
ernments and  political  forces  and  international  rivalries  con- 
stitute factors  in  international  relationships. 

In  the  whole  range  of  our  foreign  aftairs,  I  can  conceive 
of  no  scheme  which,  under  existing  circumstances,  would  be 
so  glaringly  in  contravention  of  the  injunction  of  George 
Washington  against  *'  entangling  alliances  "  as  would  be  an 
agreement  in  the  nature  of  commercial  union  with  Canada 
upon  the  lines  projected  by  Mr.  Erastus  Wiman  and  Sir  Eich- 
ard  Cartwright  and  their  few  coadjutors  in  this  country. 


14 

Instead  of  wasting  time  in  the  consideration  of  an  alliance 
so  wildly  absurd,  it  would  be  far  more  sensible  and  patriotic 
for  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  bring  this  aggressive 
and  insolent  neighbor  to  a  proper  respect  for  the  rights  and 
interests  of  this  country.  In  this  way  larger  and  much  more 
beneficial  trade  relations  could  be  cultivated  with  Canada 
than  is  possible  through  the  fantastic  scheme  of  "  commer- 
cial union." 

The  absurd  and  timid  objection  is  raised  that  measures 
for  the  correction  of  the  abuses  hereinbefore  mentioned 
would  be  likely  to  disturb  the  important  "  transit  trade  "  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  continent.  This  objection,  Senator 
CuUom,  in  his  recent  report  on  this  general  subject,  has 
shown  to  be  absolutely  without  foundation.  The  preserva- 
tion of  the  eastern  transit  trade  is  vastly  more  important  to 
Canada  than  to  the  United  States,  and  besides,  this  trade  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  continent  exists  b}^  virtue  of  natural 
geographical  features  of  interjecting  territory  and  other 
physical  conditions,  which  have  no  correspondent  whatever 
on  the  western  side  of  the  continent. 

The  course  of  the  commercial  development  of  this  great 
Nation  is  now  opposed  by  a  neighboring  government,  and 
it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  men  of  the  present  day 
and  generation  have,  or  have  not,  the  intelligence  and  patri- 
otisni  to  adopt  such  measures  as  are  clearly  necessary  for 
the  protection  of  the  honor,  the  dignity,  and  the  interest  of 
the  United  States  against  Canadian  aggression. 

JOSEPH  NIMMO,  Jii. 
Washington,  D.  C,  June  13,  1890. 


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